Windows 7 to Include “Windows XP Mode” for Application Compatibility

The Windows Product team have made a really smart decision to put in some effort around the Windows XP Virtual PC experience. This feature will is aimed at businesses that need to maintain XP compatibility with line-of-business applications. Essentially, prior to this feature announcement, businesses would have had to have an XP license and use VMWare Workstation to unify the desktop with a single start menu. Some would argue that you could also use Virtual PC already but then users would have to actively deal with a second OS. “Windows XP Mode” abstracts the look of two OSes on a machine so end-users don’t have to be bothered about firing up VMs and two start menus.